Wednesday, 17-09-2014. Day 28.

Broken Glass and Narrow Bridges

Tragedy struck this morning. Due to environmental factors beyond my control (like it was damn cold), the glass of the french press shattered as I was making coffee. Hot coffee flowed out along the slightly uneven countertop of the camper van's kitchen. I scrambled to get (first) electronics and (second) paper products out of the way of the torrential flow of hot liquid and ground coffee beans. A close call, but nothing was ruined—with the exception of a mostly used roll of paper towels.

Anyway, the real tragedy here was that this meant a return to instant coffee.

We had time for one more round of jumping on the Jumping Pillow before we had to vacate our spot. You can't resist the call of the Jumping Pillow.

We were headed to Hanmer Springs, where there are a series of (you guessed it) natural hot springs. As we made our way up the coastal road, we drove by a cool looking cave that we really wanted to explore, or at least photograph. There was no place to pull the camper van over, though, so we reluctantly had to let that one go.

Hanmer Springs is inland and at a higher altitude than Kaikoura was, and as we made our way along the twist- and turn-filled road that offered great views, it started to get colder.

We encountered a few of these one-way bridges along the way, some of which were really long, but they we all very narrow and for the first few, it was a slightly harrowing experience.

Narrow.

Once we got to Hamner Springs, we discovered that the Top 10 Holiday Park there had, that's right, a Jumping Pillow. If you have three and a half minutes to waste, you can watch this incredibly exciting video of three of us jumping on the jumping pillow.

Caution: thrills ahead.

We needed some groceries, so we walked the short distance to town and picked up some supplies for dinner and breakfast (including a new french press) at the local Four Square. We also made a brief stop at the bakery in town for coffee, cookies, and, of course, ice cream.

Jackie shows off her giant cookie.

Once back at the camp, the girls wanted to rent a two-seater bike so they could take a few spins around the campsite. After an initial mishap as they worked out the bugs of cooperative bike riding, they had great fun.

Biking Hanmer Springs.

And, even though the sun was going down and it was getting cold (8°C), Frankie and Jackie played a little football with a boy from Sydney as we prepared dinner.

After we'd cleaned up the dinner dishes, it was pretty obvious it was going to be a cold night, so we wrapped ourselves up as best we could and got ready. [Spoiler alert: It was really cold.]

Search the Blog

Sign Up For ...

social Interaction

HAPPENING ON INSTAGRAM

Along #bathhouserow in #HotSprings, Arizona, the buildings have some might fancy decorations. #Summerof17 #vanlife #JUCYWorld #JUCYUSA

An old car sits at the ghostly remnants of #Route66 in Arizona's #PetrifiedForest #NationalPark. #Summerof17 #vanlife #JUCYWorld #JUCYUSA

The fine folks at the Cadillac Ranch Gift Shop and RV Park in #Amarillo, #Texas helped us out when we learned one of the lug nuts on our flat tire didn't fit the provided lug wrench. And where else can you see Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Elvis in a #Cadillac? And let's not forget the giant Second Amendment Cowboy.

Cuts of #IceCream, sculpture at Amy's Ice Creams in Austin, #Texas, one of ten ice cream shops we sampled during the #Summerof17.

When the fine folks of #Texas put something in a field, they don't goof around. The world-famous #CadillacRanch, an iconic site just off the iconic #Route66, is yet another example of interesting large-scale public art in Texas.

A pair of giant legs in a field outside #Amarillo, TX. If the accompanying plaque is to be believed, it seems this was the inspiration of Romantic poet Percy Shelley epic poem "Ozymandias."

All adventures have moments that are less than ideal, and a flat tire outside #CadillacRanch in #Amarillo, #Texas was not the most fun we had on the #Summerof17 #toadtrip. But it could have been a lot worse—we only lost about 3 hours. #JUCYWorld #JUCYUSA